


Home.

by xSpookyScarySkeletonsx



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: also this is garbage, come join my garbage party, i am garbage, writing 2.5k words based on headcanons is totally something I do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 00:35:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14008275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSpookyScarySkeletonsx/pseuds/xSpookyScarySkeletonsx
Summary: Returning home isn't always easy, even if it's just for a visit. Good thing Saru's eight sisters are always excited to see him.





	Home.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to whatever this is!!!  
> Originally intended to be way more angsty and focused on more ~political background stuff~, this ended up being the fluffy family story nobody asked for. Pure self-indulgence after a terrible week and a ridiculous toothache. Sue me. 
> 
> Also huge shoutout to Annie aka Planetsis for not only getting me hyped to write this but for also letting me borrow her headcanons. You're the best.

The dull hum of the shuttle's engine settled in his bones, the familiarity of it soothing the continuously rising anxiety at least a little. For the thousandths time Saru asked himself if this was a mistake. Kelpia was not his home, not anymore. He had no place here anymore. Perhaps he shouldn't have come.

Underneath the shuttle, the planet's surface began to form, the undefinable blurb of green, red and brown evolving into trees and stone. There was a lake in the distance, the clear water sparkling in the midday sun. Everything looked so familiar and yet so different. He hadn't been here in a long time, since before the war had started. Well, it didn't seem quite so long to him but he had skipped nine months after all. When they had switched places with the Terran Discovery, and the ship had subsequently been destroyed, his family had been told he was dead, killed in the war against the Klingons. So of course his family had been overjoyed when Saru had re-surfaced and his mother had begged him to come visit home. How could he refuse? Saru knew it wasn't his fault that his family had been put through this but he felt guilty all the same.

When the shuttle approached the landing platform he took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves a little. It didn't help much. He was never sure why visiting home made him so nervous. It was just his family he went to see after all.  
The shuttle landed smoothly and he unfolded his long legs and rose from his seat. Running his hands down his front, Saru smoothed out his uniform jacket while waiting for the doors to open. Then he stepped outside.

The air was warm, but not uncomfortably so, and smelled of the small purple flowers that grew everywhere. Then he looked past the landing platform and spotted his sisters, watching from a safe distance, huddled up together, their excited clicks and hisses carrying over to where he had stepped off the shuttle. Yet he knew they were too afraid to come to him.

  
Shuttles were still a rare sight for most Kelpiens and historically they had always feared what they did not know. Behind his sisters he spotted his parents, the marks left behind by age and worry easy to spot even from a distance. His family only barely resembled the image that came to mind when he thought of them and the reality of it left a bitter taste in his mouth, like tea that had steeped for too long.

  
Nevertheless he took a step forward. Then another. Saru had come here to visit his family, so visit his family he would. Although presently he felt a little more like he was going to pass out, long limbs shaking slightly with anxiety, his head feeling strangely empty while also seeming ready to burst at the same time.

When he was only a few meters away from his family, his youngest sister, Sara, separated from the rest of the group. She had always been the most courageous, most curious of his sisters and it showed now as she made her way over to him, their other sisters following closely behind. Within seconds he was surrounded by all eight of them, their excited chatter a familiar buzzing around him. They seemed to have a hundred questions, all voiced at the same time, making it impossible to filter out only one and actually answer. Not that he knew what to say anyway, overwhelmed as he was. Then he saw his parents slowly, carefully coming closer. His mother looked so fragile, he could feel his heart break a little. Behind them the shuttle was ready to take off and he ushered everyone off the platform, feeling the atmosphere lighten a little when the small vessel disappeared out of sight. His own anxiety persisted, stubborn as ever.  
'My son,' his mother said then, catching his attention, 'it is good to see you.'

  
Saru slightly inclined his head. 'It is good to see you too.'

  
His father stayed behind her, having always been the more reserved one.  
Her hand reached out to touch his elbow, the gesture so familiar that for a moment he felt like he had never left. Then there was a roaring sound echoing through the woods that set his nerves on edge, muscles tightening with the reflex to run. He watched as his mother's threat ganglia emerged and, upon a quick look around, found that he was the only one whose ganglia hadn't emerged.

  
'We should go,' his father said, leading the way back to his family's dwelling. The agreement with the predators was fragile to say the least and he knew that his people were still petrified, although they hadn't been hunted in years. At least not officially. His family had informed him of strange disappearances on occasion, but since Kelpiens rarely socialized outside of their own families, it was hard to separate fact from fiction. But he supposed it was a matter for another time anyway. Saru only had a few hours here and he was intend on trying to enjoy the time with his family as opposed to worrying about politics the entire time. Which was difficult considering that he was quite literally made to worry.

Despite all of the progress brought to the planet by the Federation, his family, like so many others, still lived in a cave. It was where they felt safest and he couldn't blame them. He could feel his sisters eyes on him the entire time, the girls excited chatter never stopping. He found he had a hard time trying to understand what they were saying. These days he hardly heard anyone speak his native language and he had found that it didn't quite roll off his tongue the way it had used to anymore either.

The cave itself looked like he remembered, sparse but lived in. The soft glow of the light crystals on the walls dipped the space in a strange play of shadow and light, so very unlike from the harsh lighting of spaceships that he was used to now. He nearly flinched when his second youngest sister, Suzu, grabbed for his wrist and pulled him towards the farthest wall of the cave. There she pointed at a photo and he was surprised to find that it was of him and the crew of the Discovery on the day they had received their medals of honor. Then Suzu turned back towards him and touched the spot on his uniform where the medal had sat that day. He nodded and Suzu's face displayed something like a small smile. It was rare to see her express any kind of sentiment. Born with a defect that left her unable to communicate vocally, she relied on signing alone. And even that was a rare occasion.

  
'One of the officers gave it to us,' his oldest sister, Sora, said behind him. 'They said you're a war hero.'  
He made a little noise of disapproval that somewhat resembled a sigh. 'Hardly.'  
'You helped end a war, no?'  
'I merely did my job.'  
'War hero.'  
The way she said it left him to believe that there was no point arguing with her. He was aware that his families knowledge of what he actually did was very limited. They simply didn't know enough to understand. That being said, they had always been proud of him. Worried but proud.

At some point his mother had left the room but now she returned, carrying a small bowl of berries. 'Your favourites,' she remarked as she handed him the bowl. With a start he suddenly realized that everyone was watching him, as if they expected him to do something extraordinary. With the utmost care he popped some of the berries into his mouth. They were quite similar to blueberries in texture and taste, although their pale yellow colour bore very little resemblance to blueberries. But still blueberries had been the first human food he had enjoyed back in the day, simply because they tasted so much like something he was used to. He passed the bowl on to his sister Satu, forever worried his sisters might not have enough to eat, even though they no longer had to exclusively rely on the food they gathered.  
The Federation had stationed Starfleet Officers here in an attempt to keep the fragile peace between predator and prey. They also handed out rations to anyone who needed them and provided medical care, which had not only done a great deal to extend the lifespan of the Kelpiens but had also helped to combat the extremely high infant mortality rates. Despite all of that, most Kelpiens were still suspicious of the strangers and mostly kept to themselves, only turning to Starfleet in the most dire situations. He supposed it was better than nothing.  
He watched as his sisters passed the bowl around, each grabbing a few berries. Sharing had never been an issue.  
His mother's eyes, the same shade of green as his own but forever clouded with worry, continued to watch him with that almost far-away gaze filled with wonder. She had never used to look at him like that when he was younger.

'Remember when we were young,' Sora said suddenly, almost mirroring his thoughts,' and we used to draw on rocks all the time?'  
He nodded in response.  
'Well, I remember how you used to steal your mother's flowers to make paint from them,' his father added.  
'Did they really?' Sara asked, eyes bright. Sometimes he forgot that she was young enough to not remember a time before the Federation ships had arrived. There had been less fear when she was growing up and it showed. Part of him had wanted to push her to join Starfleet but he knew his parents would never allow it.  
'They did,' his father said, bringing his thoughts back to the conversation. 'Before we were leaving the cave, your mother used to grow flowers. She would always put them where a sliver of light fell through the ceiling. Some days she had to move them constantly. But your two oldest siblings would always steal the blossoms to make paint from them.'  
He remembered it clearly now, how he and Sora had hidden behind the stalagmites, watching their mother closely while she was busy tending to her flowers, waiting for her to leave or even just turn her back for a moment. It had been exhilarating, a welcome change from the often dull routine of living underground. More often than not their mother had caught them in the act, feigning shock at their actions. He remembered running away, flowers still in hand, giggling and clicking in excitement. If Sora's fond expression was anything to go by she remembered the same thing.

They sat together for a long time, his sisters telling stories about every day life now. While he knew they were important to them, that their issues truly were challenging to them, they seemed so far removed from life on a starship. He sometimes faced problems more serious before breakfast.

Eventually his sisters exhausted themselves with their storytelling and the room fell almost uncomfortably silent. He looked around, almost desperate for something to say. Then his eyes fell on the only piece of technology his family owned, a PADD he had given them so they could communicate with him. The last time he had seen his parents, they had been terrible at using it. His sisters were only a little better. Now the side of the screen was cracked, a rare sight considering the device was originally made to survive usage on a spaceship, built to withstand a great amount of impact force.  
'What happened?' he asked, gesturing to the PADD even as he stood to retrieve it.  
'Pa dropped it,' Sada said, seemingly amused.  
Their father clicked in disapproval. Saru tilted his head and looked down at the cracked screen. Simply dropping it would not have been enough to break it.  
'He dropped it off the top of a hill,' Sara clarified. It did little to alleviate Saru's confusion. His family hardly ever left the cave unless they were looking for food. What possible reason could there be for his father to take the PADD not only outside with him, but on top of a hill, a place he normally never went to begin with?  
'I don't understand.'  
'He couldn't see the screen,' Sora said, 'so he took it outside, past the trees, thinking he could see it in daylight.'  
'It was just turned off,' Sada added, clicking in amusement. Their father made a little noise of disapproval, much like the one Saru himself often made.  
'Don't ridicule your father,' their mother said softly.  
Suzu gently bumped Sora with her elbow. 'Fine,' Sora grumbled.  
Some things never change and he shook his head at his sisters. Then he made a mental note to have a new PADD sent to his family. Again.

Saru couldn't help but to think back to when he had first given them a PADD, a rather long time ago when he had started training at the academy. While the technology had been new to him as well, he had learned quickly. His parents and sisters not so much. He remembered his first call home quite well. His mother had practically screamed into the PADD so loudly that he was almost surprised he hadn't been able to hear her on earth without the help of the electronic device. Then she had asked him to speak to his sisters and had simply held up the PADD, pointing it at them. What she didn't understand was that it was the camera at the front of the device that was capturing images. Saru had requested for her to switch to the back camera and even provided instructions on how to do so. But his mother had simply turned the whole PADD around and instead of showing him his sisters had ended up showing him the floor and walls of the cave. Upside down. His academy roommate had nearly choked with laughter.

When he put the PADD back in its place he realized it was time to leave and suppressed a sigh. This was easily the worst part. While his species tended more towards not showing emotion, the look of sadness in his mother's eyes was hard to miss every time they said their goodbyes. He never quite knew what to say or do to ease her burden.  
Back at the shuttle platform, his mother reached for his arm, fingers wrapping around it just underneath his elbow.  
'Don't stay away for too long,' she said, her voice soft despite the slight edge to it.  
'I will not,' Saru replied, even though he knew it was a lie. They both knew. Her soft hold on his elbow disappeared. His father only nodded and stepped back, even as his sisters crowded around him again, forever reminding him of a swarm of bees. They all started chattering at the same time again, making requests for things they wanted him to send. He looked over at Sora, who had proven to be the most efficient at using the PADD to message him. 'It would be a lot easier if you just sent me a list of items you want.'  
Sora nodded and the rest of his sisters squealed in excitement. Then the shuttle arrived. His sisters scurried off the platform, at least a little more comfortable with the shuttle now than they had been before, waving their goodbyes.  
Even as he boarded he could feel the beginnings of a major headache coming on.


End file.
